Danny Candelaria, of Seven Oaks, left, removes snow chains from his truck as Holly Haas looks on along Hwy 38, north of Forest Falls in the San Bernardino National Forest on Tuesday, January 15, 2019. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Snow! It’s possible some of us will have to commute in the white stuff come Tuesday.

Forecasters are predicting lower-than-usual snow levels Tuesday night, Feb. 5, several agencies — including Caltrans and sheriff’s departments — are getting ready for what could be a chaotic situation on the roadways.

“The storm will produce lower temperatures and possible snow levels down to 1,500 feet, affecting the afternoon and evening commute (Tuesday),” said Terri Kasinga, spokeswoman for Caltrans. “Winds up to 40 mph and low visibility is also expected during the storm.”

A very cold low-pressure system is moving into the region from the north, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Jimmy Taeger. “It’s colder than what we’d usually see,” he said.

“In seasons past where we’ve seen snow levels drop to the valley floor, it typically creates a beautiful picture for a few hours down here with a potential uptick in traffic-related incidents,” according to Eric Sherwin, spokesman with the San Bernardino County Fire Department. “We recommend that commuters exercise a high level of caution when driving as roads have the potential to be slick — more so than during rains — and possibly icy.”

Depending on the location, according to NWS, some areas could see a small accumulation of snow Tuesday night, but it will mostly dissipate.

Although seemingly rare, snow at levels as low as 2,500 feet is not as uncommon as some may think.

“Snow levels drop this low, I’d say, a couple of times a year,” said Taeger. “But because in the last few years we didn’t have that many storm systems it only happened maybe once, but during a normal year we may see it a couple of times a year.”

Temperatures in the Inland Empire, including Yucaipa, Banning and Portions of Lake Elsinore could drop to the mid 20s to lower 30s Tuesday night. They will then warm to about the mid 30s and lower 40s Wednesday, according to the NWS.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela is an award-winning journalist who’s covered breaking news in Southern California since 2006 and has been on the front lines of several national and international news events. She’s worked for media outlets serving Southern California readers covering education, local government, entertainment and all things nerd including comic book culture and video games. She’s an amateur obstacle course racer, constant fact-checker, mother of three and lover of all things adorable.